the accused person demands a jury. If a jury is demanded, six men are chosen by order of the justice, who constitute a jury. They decide whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty of the crime charged, and the justice affixes the penalty. Preliminary Examinations. If a person is charged with some more serious crime, defined as felony, and liable to be punished with imprisonment in the penitentiary, the justice may be required to conduct a preliminary examination. In such a case witnesses are summoned and an investigation is made into the evidences of crime, and if it seems to the justice that the evidence against the person is such as to make it probable that he is guilty, it is his duty to commit the prisoner to the county jail until the meeting of the grand jury. In the case of most crimes the prisoner has a right to bail, and it is the duty of the justice to fix the amount. Change of Venue. In either sort of case, whether it is an actual trial of a petty crime, or a preliminary examination of a charge of felony, the accused person has a right to a change of venue. If he declares under oath that he believes that he cannot secure justice before the present justice of the peace, the case goes with a copy of all the records to the next nearest justice in the county, and there it must be conducted; no farther change can be granted. If a person is dissatisfied with the judgment rendered in a justice's court, he may appeal to the district court and have the case tried anew. Habeas Corpus.-There is no appeal from the decision of the justice in the case of a preliminary examination. Yet if the person is sent to jail he may petition any judge of a court of higher jurisdiction in the state, who is the most convenient in point of distance, for a writ of habeas corpus on the ground that he is unlawfully imprisoned. If, from the showing of facts contained in the petition, the judge is satisfied that the prisoner is not entitled to any relief, he may refuse to grant the petition; otherwise it is his duty to issue an order to the authority having charge of the prisoner to bring his body before the court at a fixed time, and show cause why he is held. If it shall appear in this examination that the prisoner has been unlawfully held, it is the duty of the judge to release him; otherwise he is held as before. In case a boy or girl, under the age of sixteen and over the age of seven, is convicted of a crime before the justice, or is shown to be a disorderly person, the justice may order them to be taken before a district judge, who has the power to send them to the reform school of the state. Civil Cases. The justice of the peace may try civil cases where the amount involved does not exceed a hundred dollars; or, if the parties agree, a case may be tried before a justice where three hundred dollars are involved. In this way many of the disputes between citizens are settled before a justice's court. Notes are collected, accounts are proved and settled, damages are collected, property is seized for the benefit of creditors. In the trial of a civil case before a justice a jury may be demanded by either party to the suit, and, as in criminal action, it consists of six persons. In a civil case either party may appeal to the district court, and in that court the case may be tried anew. Other Duties. The justice, besides his duties as judge, may do various other things. He may perform the marriage ceremony. He may hold an inquest over dead bodies in place of a coroner. He may acknowledge deeds and mortgages, though this is usually done by a notary public. It is the duty of the justice to enter in a book kept for the purpose a description of estrays taken up, and to send a copy of the description to the county auditor. By the direction of the justice estrays and lost goods are appraised. Constables. During the Middle Ages each great lord had a companion and commander of his horsemen. He was called comes stabuli, or count of the stable. He was the chief military officer of the castle. For a time the highest military officer of the king was, in France and England, called the Lord High Constable. These officers, in England, exercised judicial as well as military and administrative functions. There was one such in each castle. Throughout the towns and shires of England the minor peace officers were called constables. Their duties in early times were scarce distinguishable from those of conservators of the peace who became justices of the peace. But, as the justices came to be judicial officers, the constables continued as their ministerial officers, to arrest and hold criminals, to summon witnesses, to empanel juries, and to do whatever the court legally ordered. The office of constable came to America with the English colonists. Miles Standish was constable at Plymouth. Both in England and America the office of high constable has nearly disappeared, and only the local constable remains. As a Peace Officer. In this state, constables, along with marshals, police officers, sheriffs, and deputy sher iffs, are peace officers of the state. It is their duty to command the peace, to quell riots, to prevent crimes. A private citizen may, without a warrant, arrest and take before a magistrate any person committing a crime in his presence; or, if he knows that a felony, or a crime punishable with confinement in state's prison, has been committed, a private person may arrest, without warrant, a person who he has reason to believe committed the crime. It is made the special duty of constables and other peace officers to make such arrests. Usually before an arrest is made, the constable receives a written order to take the person accused of crime and bring him before the magistrate. This order is called a warrant. Ministerial Officer. - The constable is the ministerial officer of the justice's court. It is his duty to subpœna witnesses, select jurymen, make arrests, have charge of prisoners, and do whatever the court orders him to do. As a ministerial officer the constable always acts under orders from the court. As a peace officer he may act upon his own motion. The justice may require any peace officer to act as his ministerial officer, or he may appoint any citizen to serve as constable in case of emergency. CHAPTER XII. SHERIFF AND CORONER. The Sheriff. The office of Sheriff, like that of justice of peace and constable, is traced back to our English and Saxon ancestors. The head man of the township was called the tungerefa, or town reeve. The town reeve presided at the town-meetings; he with four chief men represented the township in the county courts. The duties of the reeve were judicial as well as administrative. He was the head man in all local government. As the power of the king and great lords increased, the reeve lost in part his local importance; he was chosen by the king or great lord, and was regarded as the king's reeve or the lord's reeve. The Sheriff's Duties. As England came to be divided into shires, or counties, the chief man to carry out the will of earl or of king in the shire, was called the shire-reeve, or sheriff. This officer in early times often exercised important judicial functions. In Scotland the sheriff is still a judicial officer, but in England and America the sheriff is the chief executive and ministerial officer of all the higher courts held in the county. The sheriff in Iowa holds about the same relation to the district court held in the county that the constable does to the justice's court, or the town or city marshal does to the mayor's or police courts. In the counties where the supreme court holds its sitting, the sheriff of the county serves that court, in addition to his county business. Courts of the United States are served by United States marshals. The sheriff has entire charge of the county jail and is himself the jailer or secures some one to serve as such. By himself or deputy he makes all arrests and serves all notices, writs, executions, and warrants for the district court. If a justice sends a man to the county jail, the constable delivers him to the sheriff or his deputy. The sheriff is the chief conservator of the peace in the county, and as such he may order out all able-bodied |